Etymologically
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cabin

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkæbɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English caban, cabane, borrowed from Old French cabane (“hut, cottage”),[2][3][4] from Old Occitan cabana, from Late Latin capanna (“hut”), cavanna,[3][2][5] a word of uncertain origin.[2][3] The spelling cabin appeared about 1598 and was established in the 1600s.[2][6] It is a doublet of cabana.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hut: 1346 in Barnhart;[2] a cell, as of a hermit, 1362 in the OED.[7]

Semantic evolution

A room or compartment in a ship is from the 14th century (1382 in the OED),[7][6][3] and a dwelling of rough construction from about 1440.[7] A natural cave or a beast's den (1377) and a small bedroom (1594) are obsolete senses,[7] and the political cabinet briefly in the 17th century.[6] The enclosed space of an aircraft or spacecraft is a later extension.[8][9] Cabin fever was a name for typhus in the 1820s, and the need to get out and about by 1918.[3] French cabine and Italian cabino are borrowed from English.[3]

Timeline

  • 1346 – a hut.[2]
  • 1382 – a ship's cabin.[7]
  • c. 1440 – a rough dwelling.[7]
  • c. 1598 – spelling cabin.[2]
  • 1918 – cabin fever, restlessness.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small, roughly built house; a hut.
  2. A room in a ship used as living quarters.
  3. The enclosed space in an aircraft for passengers or crew.

Verb

  1. To confine in a small space.

Word family

  • cabinet
  • cabinmate
  • cabin boy
  • cabin attendant
  • cabin cruiser
  • cabin car
  • cabin fever
  • cabin hook
  • cabana

Usage notes

In general English dialect use the EDD records cabin for a small hut or shelter used by workmen.[10]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)